Press Release

U.S. Economic Development Administration Invests $800,000 to Support Entrepreneurs and Startups in Southwestern Pennsylvania

Contact: Public Affairs Department, (202) 482-4085
Wednesday 17, 2014

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) today announced an $800,000 grant to Innovation Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to expand the AlphaLab startup accelerator. According to grantee estimates, this investment will create 300 jobs and generate $225 million in private investment over the next nine years.

“Innovation is crucial to economic success in today’s global economy,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Jay Williams. “The EDA investment announced today will provide support to entrepreneurs and startups in southwestern Pennsylvania, enabling job creation and economic growth for the region.”

EDA’s investment will allow Innovation Works to expand its AlphaLab program, which provides critical business services, mentoring, curriculum, office space, and other services in support of new business startups. The program will also develop new investor outreach and mentor orientation/best-practices materials to expand the regional entrepreneurial support network and will provides a mechanism through which displaced workers can themselves become entrepreneurs. The new ventures that come out of AlphaLab will create skilled and unskilled positions that can be filled by displaced workers.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.